Santa Lucia Weather Report

It was 10:30 at night. I turned off the TV in preparation for bed, and heard some unusual sounds. I looked at the windows – nothing. I got up and l looked out the front door – rain. I checked my weather station – 38 degrees with wind chill down to 33. Inside, I let the fire die down, as it was over 80.

All together, I got .44″ of the life-source, but no snow. Winds got up to 42 mph. At 9:30 am, it is 33 outside, wind chill bringing it down to 27. Blue skies peek through the clouds. The road is muddy and slick, and trees are probably down due to the winds. I have our yearly ladies holiday luncheon, but with road conditions, doesn’t look like I’ll risk it.

Snow expected

FXUS66 KMTR 062239
AFDMTR

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SAN FRANCISCO BAY AREA
239 PM PST FRI DEC 6 2013

.DISCUSSION…AS OF 02:30 PM PST FRIDAY…

HIGH CLOUDS ARE STREAMING INTO THE AREA AHEAD OF A SHORTWAVE
CURRENTLY CENTERED OFF THE OREGON COAST. PRECIPITATION IS STILL
MOSTLY CONFINED TO FAR NORTHERN CALIFORNIA HOWEVER SNOW IS
CURRENTLY FALLING IN MENDOCINO COUNTY WHERE COLD AIR IS TRAPPED.
RAIN IS FORECAST TO BEGIN ACROSS THE NORTH BAY LATER THIS
AFTERNOON AND SPREAD ACROSS THE REST OF THE AREA OVERNIGHT.
RAINFALL ACCUMULATION WILL RANGE FROM A TENTH TO A QUARTER OF AN
INCH AROUND THE URBAN BAY AREA WITH AROUND A HALF INCH AT HIGHER
ELEVATIONS.

SNOW LEVELS WILL INITIALLY BE AROUND 2500 TO 3000 FEET ACROSS
MOST OF THE AREA AS THE PRECIPITATION BEGINS…DROPPING TO AS LOW
AS 2000 FEET AFTER THE FRONT PASSES. SNOW ACCUMULATION OF TWO TO
FOUR INCHES IS POSSIBLE ABOVE 2500 FEET. SNOW LEVELS ARE SLIGHTLY
LOWER OVER THE NORTH BAY HOWEVER ACCUMULATIONS ARE EXPECTED TO BE
LIGHT. MODELS ARE INDICATING SHOWERS WILL LINGER OVER MONTEREY AND
SAN BENITO COUNTIES INTO MID SUNDAY MORNING WHEN COLDER AIR
ARRIVES WHICH COULD INCREASE ACCUMULATIONS UP TO AROUND SIX
INCHES OF SNOW. TRAVEL IN AREAS WITH SNOW OR RAIN SNOW MIX COULD
BECOME DIFFICULT.

OVERNIGHT LOW TEMPERATURES TONIGHT WILL BE MUCH WARMER THAN THOSE
OF THE PAST FEW NIGHTS. AS THE SKIES CLEAR IN THE NORTH BAY BEFORE
SUNRISE SATURDAY MORNING HOWEVER TEMPERATURES COULD END UP
PLUMMETING. HAVE GONE WITH A MIDDLE SOLUTION OF SOME COOLING OVER
SONOMA AND NAPA BUT IT COULD END UP BEING EVEN COLDER IN ISOLATED
VALLEYS IF THE CLOUDS ARE FAST TO CLEAR AND WINDS REMAIN LIGHT.

VERY COLD AIR WILL RETURN POST FRONT LEADING TO AT LEAST TWO MORE
MORNINGS BELOW FREEZING IN MANY AREAS. FREEZE WARNING HAS BEEN
ISSUED FOR MOST OF THE AREA FOR SUNDAY MORNING. TEMPERATURES
SLOWLY REBOUND AROUND THE MIDDLE OF NEXT WEEK AS A RIDGE BUILDS
ACROSS THE WEST. IT IS QUICK TO PROGRESS INLAND HOWEVER LEADING TO
A CHANCE OF RAIN LATE IN THE WEEK AS A LONG WAVE TROUGH MOVES

&&

.MTR WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES…
.TNGT…WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY…SANTA CRUZ MOUNTAINS
…EAST BAY HILLS…AND SANTA LUCIA MOUNTAINS

Weather watch

A FREEZE WARNING WILL BE IN EFFECT FOR THE ENTIRE
REGION…EXCEPT THE CITY OF SAN FRANCISCO…LATE TONIGHT THROUGH
THURSDAY MORNING.

A BIG CHANGE IN THE WEATHER PATTERN IS IN STORE FOR THE END OF THE
WORK WEEK AS ANOTHER UPPER LEVEL TROUGH DIVES SOUTH TOWARD CENTRAL
CA. THIS WILL BRING RAIN TO THE NORTH BAY AS EARLY AS FRIDAY
MORNING WITH RAIN SPREADING SOUTH INTO MONTEREY COUNTY FRIDAY
EVENING. THE GFS…ECMWF…AND NAM ARE ALL IN GOOD AGREEMENT ABOUT
TIMING OF THE RAIN…SO CONFIDENCE IS HIGH THAT THE ENTIRE REGION
WILL SEE SOME FORM OF PRECIPITATION. RAINFALL ACCUMULATION WILL
GENERALLY RANGE FROM A HALF OF AN INCH TO AN INCH THROUGH THE
HIGHER ELEVATIONS TO A TENTH TO A QUARTER INCH THROUGH THE VALLEY
LOCATIONS.

WITH THE COLD AIR ALREADY IN PLACE…SNOW LEVELS ASSOCIATED WITH
THIS STORM WILL START OFF BETWEEN 1500 AND 2500 FEET…DROPPING AS
LOW AS 1000 FEET BY EARLY SATURDAY MORNING. IT IS NOT OUT OF THE
QUESTION THAT A RAIN/SNOW MIX COULD BE POSSIBLE JUST BELOW THE
1000 FOOT MARK. SNOW IS FORECAST TO ACCUMULATE OVER THE HIGHEST
ELEVATIONS THROUGH THE NORTH AND EAST BAY MOUNTAINS…SANTA CRUZ
MOUNTAINS…AND SANTA LUCIAS…WITH AROUND 6 INCHES TOTAL BY MIDDAY
SATURDAY.

Woohoo! This could be fun!

Snow on Cone Peak

There IS snow on Cone Peak this morning, but it doesn’t go down very far, I’m guessing 4-4500′. None here, although it is very cold. I’m busy trying to stay warm. Have a great one, everyone, we are in for warmer weather next week.

Continuing Storm Report & Rocky Creek Closures

Noon – from the 9 am forecaster a winter weather advisory for the Santa Lucia Mts and the Los Padres National Forest.

THE BEST CHANCE FOR SNOW WILL BE OVER THE SANTA LUCIAS AS BOTH THE
ECMWF AND GFS CONTINUE TO KEEP A BULK OF THE PRECIPITATION OFF
SHORE. A WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY IS IN EFFECT FOR THE SANTA LUCIA
MOUNTAINS AND LOS PADRES NATIONAL FOREST AS WELL AS THE MOUNTAINS
OF SAN BENITO COUNTY AND INTERIOR MONTEREY. THIS AREA WILL SEE THE
BEST INSTABILITY COMBINED WITH MOISTURE AND LIFT. THE LIMITING
FACTOR IS THAT WHEN THE BEST MOISTURE IS PRESENT THE WINDS WILL
ACTUALLY BE COMING FROM THE EAST…LIMITING THE OROGRAPHIC EFFECTS
SEEN WHEN MOIST WEST WINDS ARE PUSHING OVER THE MOUNTAINS. NON THE
LESS THESE CONDITIONS WILL SUPPORT THE WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY
WITH 5 TO 10 INCHES OF SNOW POSSIBLE ABOVE 3000 FEET AND 1 TO 4
INCHES AT ELEVATION OF 2500 TO 3000 FEET. THE WINTER WEATHER
ADVISORY IS IN EFFECT FROM 1000 AM THURSDAY TO 1000 AM FRIDAY.

8:00 am, From NOAA’s 3:30 am forecast discussion –

RAIN WILL RETURN TONIGHT INTO THURSDAY MORNING AS THE UPPER AIR LOW DIVES TO THE SOUTH TOWARD OUR AREA. SHOWERS WILL SPREAD ACROSS THE ENTIRE CWA WITH THE MAIN FOCUS ALONG THE COAST…IN PARTICULAR MOUNTAINS IN MONTEREY AND SAN BENITO COUNTIES. SNOW LEVELS WILL DROP DOWN TO AS LOW AS 2500 FEET WITH A GOOD POSSIBILITY OF SUBSTANTIAL SNOWFALL OVER 3000 FEET. A WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY IS IN EFFECT FOR THOSE AREAS.

They also mention the possibility of hail and lightning. Stay warm, everyone!

Also, Rocky Creek Road Closures:

Night closures next week are as follows:
· Sunday, March 10 through Thursday, March 14—9 pm to 11 pm with up to 10-minute delays;
· Sunday, March 10 through Thursday, March 14—11 pm to 7 am (Friday am) with up to 30-minute delays;
(Roadway will remain OPEN each night next week—no overnight hard closures)

Sparkling snow

Stunning this morning in the first light of day … Took some photos, and will take some more, but coffee and fire first. Bright sunshine, but quite cold. The whole coast is clear and sparkling! Gorgeous day to wake up in Big Sur – actually, there are no bad days to wake up here!

20130220-090136.jpg

20130220-090251.jpg

Those are photos I took just after the sun came up, before coffee and fire. I have a couple others, taken AFTER coffee #1 and starting my fire for the day. The deck and road are still covered, so I can’t drive, or walk outside much, without fear of slipping – not something I’m anxious to do, even for really good photo ops!

Here are a few I took after coffee.

20130220-102804.jpg
That’s my live Xmas tree. Looks right at home, doesn’t it?

20130220-102955.jpg
Think I’m going to have to clean off my solar panels, on my solar generator, if I want to recharge today.;-)

20130220-103130.jpg
My trusty Jeep Commander

20130220-103236.jpg
That’s it for now, ladies and gents. Enjoy this day, and every day.

Cone Peak in her winter blanket

Stunning, isn’t she?

20130219-160924.jpg

And here are a couple more

20130219-162447.jpg

20130219-162538.jpg

Snow photos, 2/19/13 – Big Sur

20130219-144445.jpg20130219-144601.jpg

I have more photos I will continue to try to add. It has been snowing continuously since 2:00 pm, without let-up.

20130219-145619.jpg

20130219-152137.jpg

20130219-152235.jpg

I’ll take more photos before it gets dark, particularly if it continues to snow, as it has for the last hour and a half. The default will add them below this message.

This is so amazing, after an 80 degree day up here on Sunday!

Weather Report

At 2:00 pm, it started full-on snowing really covering the ground will try to get some photos uploaded, but am having trouble updating the post.

12:45, the front is here. I can see it on the NEXRAD, and hear it in the wind. I’ve tried to upload the NEXRAD shot, to no avail. It shows snow east of Fremont.

10:00 am report – a bit of rain and some slush, so far this am. I’ll post again this afternoon when it starts to snow, as is expected.

Upcoming storm system

This is what is expected for Tuesday, per NOAA:

BY TUESDAY A COLD WEATHER SYSTEM ORIGINATING IN THE GULF OF ALASKA
WILL SPREAD MORE COLD AIR ACROSS THE REGION…AS WELL AS
BENEFICIAL PRECIPITATION. RAIN MAY BEGIN TO FALL ACROSS THE
REGION IN TIME FOR THE TUESDAY MORNING COMMUTE…BUT IT NOW APPEARS
THAT MOST OF THE PRECIPITATION WILL FALL FROM LATE TUESDAY MORNING
THROUGH TUESDAY AFTERNOON. RAINFALL AMOUNTS WILL NOT BE ENOUGH TO
CAUSE FLOODING. MOST AREAS ARE FORECAST TO RECEIVE BETWEEN A TENTH
AND A HALF INCH…EXCEPT IN COASTAL MOUNTAINS WHERE LOCALLY HIGHER
AMOUNTS ARE POSSIBLE. HEAVIEST PRECIPITATION IS EXPECTED TO OCCUR
IN THE SANTA LUCIA MOUNTAINS OF MONTEREY COUNTY.

AS MUCH COLDER AIR ARRIVES WITH THIS SYSTEM…SNOW LEVELS WILL
DROP TO AS LOW AS 2000 FEET BY LATE TUESDAY. LIGHT SNOW
ACCUMULATIONS ARE LIKELY AT THE HIGHER ELEVATIONS OF THE SAN
FRANCISCO BAY AREA…WITH PERHAPS A FEW INCHES POSSIBLE ACROSS THE
HIGHER PEAKS OF THE SANTA CRUZ MOUNTAINS AND DIABLO RANGE. FARTHER
SOUTH…SNOW ACCUMULATION WILL PROBABLY BE GREATER WITH UP TO SIX
INCHES OF SNOW POSSIBLE ABOVE 2500 FEET IN THE SANTA LUCIA RANGE
OF MONTEREY COUNTY AND IN THE LOS PADRES NATIONAL FOREST. THIS
WILL CREATE HAZARDOUS WINTRY DRIVING CONDITIONS AT THE HIGHEST
ELEVATIONS TUESDAY AND TUESDAY NIGHT.

PERSONS WITH OUTDOOR PLANS SHOULD CONTINUE TO MONITOR THE LATEST
FORECASTS TO ADJUST THEIR PLANS ACCORDINGLY.